Helian Jue leaned against the window of Lanyue Pavilion, still holding the same white jade wine pot in his hand, but the wine in the pot seemed to have lost its former appeal.

His gaze no longer stared blankly into the void as before.

Instead, with a focus he himself was unaware of, he descended upon that familiar street, upon the brightly lit and bustling Bazhenlou.

Even across the distance and the noise, he could almost feel the crisp sound of the storyteller's gavel striking the stage in the center of the hall, and the cheers erupting from the diners.

This completely off-track plot unfolded before his eyes like an absurd yet brilliant farce.

In private, Helian Jue's lips no longer held that unchanging, cold mockery, but instead twitched upwards in an extremely subtle, uncontrollable way.

He tilted his head back and gulped down a mouthful of the cold liquor, the spiciness irritating his throat.

For several days, he saw her personally picking those strange herbs in the backyard, her movements as gentle as if she were handling a precious treasure.

Under the moonlight, she hummed a strange little tune, its melody cheerful and carrying a rhythm that didn't belong to this era.

He secretly watched her record accounts in the accounting room using a symbol he had never seen before. The straight lines and numbers were arranged neatly and efficiently.

After what seemed like an eternity, he hid on the rooftop opposite the Bazhen Tower, watching her teach the dancers a dance step he had never seen before. The movements were expansive and energetic, completely different from the subtle and graceful traditional dance.

Every day, he discovers more anomalies.

Those were like fireflies in the night in the eyes of this monster who had experienced countless reincarnations.

"A soul from beyond the heavens..."

Helian Jue's fingertips unconsciously caressed the cold surface of the wine pot, and another equally unusual person appeared in his mind: Xia Momo.

That woman who inexplicably appeared in the cycle of reincarnation, disrupting everything and causing the dynasty to collapse more quickly each time.

Xia Momo was the same; she possessed knowledge and an aura that did not belong to this world, and used those strange words and methods to deceive everyone.

Ultimately, she was like a plague, dragging the entire dynasty into an abyss of no return.

And now, another unknown Liu Dongjia has arrived.

But having met her personally, he felt that Liu Dongjia did not seem to be the kind of woman Xia Momo was.

She was a woman who did not value power, status, gold, or silver.

But what's the difference between her and Xia Momo? They're both from outer space.

Helian Jue's gaze suddenly turned cold.

"Kill her."

A cold voice echoed in his heart.

"Before she causes greater chaos, before she bewitches people like Xia Momo, before she does something irreversible..."

Once the thought surfaced, it coiled around his heart like a venomous snake.

Helian Jue's right hand was already on the sword at his waist.

The sword hilt was icy cold yet inexplicably hot, burning his palm and reminding him never to do anything he would regret.

With just a simple command, the secret guards lurking near the Eight Treasures Pavilion will take action.

A cup of poisoned wine, a dagger, or an accident.

With his power, making a young restaurant owner disappear without a trace would be as easy as turning his hand.

"She didn't do anything; she just diligently ran the restaurant!"

Another voice suddenly rang out in his heart, faint yet persistent.

"She was just making new dishes and growing those strange herbs. She didn't bewitch anyone or spread dangerous rumors like Xia Momo did!"

Helian Jue's fingers trembled slightly.

He remembered that day in the backyard when Zixi splashed a basin of swill on Pei Ziqing.

I recall her unwavering stance when facing thugs and bullies.

None of this resembles Xia Momo, the woman who always pretends to be weak and pitiful but is actually scheming.